Ugliness
by WhisperToMeSoftly
Summary: Kyoshi was never the prettiest girl. So when she's told that she's the next Avatar, she thinks there must be some mistake. But perhaps she can do something, something extraordinary... despite her ugliness. No shippings, past Avatar
1. Prologue

**AN:: I'm back, darlings. **

**This idea just came to me, I don't know why. I was just watching "The Avatar and the Firelord" again, and I realized that all the Avatars had to go through the same experience Roku did. So, naturally, I wondered what that must have been like for the other Avatars…**

**Specifically, Kyoshi. **

**And for the record: I'm making some stuff up here…bear with me, I didn't have a lot to work with (besides the fact that she had big feet). I created most of the characters besides Kyoshi from my own imagination. Her husband? My idea. **

**And if he resembles Sokka and she resembles Suki…well, then. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar, blahblahblah…don't expect me to say that for every chapter. It gets rather monotonous. Don't deny it. You think so too.**

_"You make that face painting look so good."_

_She chuckles, placing the finishing touches on the red above her eyes. "You're making fun of me."_

_"If you say so," he replies vaguely. She can hear him stretching out on the bed behind her, barely awake. "I still think it looks lovely."_

_"Thank you, love," she replies, sitting down beside him. Even half-asleep, his eyes still have that brilliant shade of blue she fell in love with—the color of water, she used to tell him. He would always reply that water was clear, not blue._

_"You're a fashion pioneer," he continues. "There are already girls trying to imitate you. You see them walking down the street? Same makeup. Same outfit."_

_Kyoshi laughs. "Several of them have come to me, asking them to teach them how to fight. I think they're inspired by the fact that the Avatar is female."_

_"And who wouldn't be?" he asks with a grin. "You inspire me." _

_"You're a hopeless romantic, Kelikko," she tells him happily, slapping his arm. _

_His grin only widens. "And so what if I am? You love me for it."_

_"And conceited as well! How could I marry such a heathen?"_

_"Must have been your upbringing. Did your mother marry a heathen too?" he jokes. "That kind of insanity is hereditary, you know."_

_Kyoshi looks away, standing up. She is fully dressed, her hair done up, her makeup covering her face. She glances out the window. She can see the people walking by, navigating streets that are all-too-familiar to her. "My mother drowned when I was just a child," she replies, keeping her voice strong. "I barely knew her. I never knew my father, or my grandfather. My grandmother was my only source of strength."_

_Kelikko sits up slightly, propping his head up and resting his chin on his hand. "You've never told me that."_

_She turns to look at him; her eyes are bright with affection, yet her voice is quiet. "I haven't told you about my childhood, have I?" _

_"No, you haven't," he says, pretending to scold her. "I told you all about mine!"_

_She tilts her head back and laughs. He just thinks of how beautiful she is when she does that. "Oh yes, of getting your first spear, getting trapped on a floating iceberg, getting rescued by your little waterbending sister…I've heard all about it."_

_"And were you such a perfect angel?"_

_"Not in the slightest!"_

"Kyoshi!"

The girl sat up quickly with a gasp—too quickly. Her head immediately began to spin…she had been lying down for far too long. "Yes?" she called back, holding a hand to her dizzying head.

"Get over here now! I thought I told you to clean the kitchen before I got home!"

Kyoshi rubbed her eyes and blinked. She must have fallen asleep; it seemed like her grandmother had left only a few minutes ago."Yes, grandmother," she replied. "I'll be right down."

"You'd better, girl, or I'll have your hide!"

Kyoshi started to get up, then sat back down. Grandmother could wait a few more minutes, couldn't she? So instead, she rested on her elbows, and looked out from her vantage point over the sea of rooftops before her. She was on her own roof, resting in the thatch. Her dark brown hair had originally been in a bun; some of it had fallen, to frame her oval face. It wasn't a very pretty face. It was too long, too gaunt. She wasn't skinny, she was broad-shouldered. Her body held very little feminine shape. She was teased mercilessly by some boys in the town, who always took every opportunity to make fun of her appearance. They called her Bigfoot and Ostrichface, Blobby and Puke-eyes.

However, other people never failed to comment on her eyes: her vibrant, emerald green eyes. They were always bright and full of life. They often flashed when she was defiant or angry, and had shed tears on more than one occasion. But they remained the most beautiful part of her face—and therefore, the part that the village boys needed to make fun of.

The roof was her favorite place to go. It always had been. She could see the entire village from there, almost the entire peninsula. Her hometown was situated on a rather thin peninsula, off of the Earth Kingdom mainland. She loved it dearly. Every night, when she opened the attic door to clamber on to the roof, she wished on a star (and on a Giant Koi if she saw one, surfacing in the sea). What did she wish? Ah, it changed every night. Sometimes it was that she would one day meet her father. Sometimes she wished for a sign from her mother. Sometimes she wished for material things, like a new dress, or a pet.

More often than not, she wished that her grandmother would be proud of her.

The woman was so critical, so hard to please. And although Kyoshi sometimes went out of her way to annoy the elderly witch, most of the time she obeyed her quietly, and without question. She found herself feeling sorry for the woman who had lost her only daughter, and her husband, only to be left with the sniveling granddaughter who had nowhere else to go.

"KYOSHI!"

Her grandmother's shout made her jump nearly out of her skin. "I'm coming!" she yelled back quickly. The girl scrambled up, fighting to get out of the clingy thatch and make her way to the attic door. She was in for a lecture.

-x-x-

Grandmother Jillian waited in the kitchen, hands on her hips, right foot tapping the floor impatiently. Kyoshi careened around the corner, screeching to a halt in front of her, completely out of breath. She bowed her head, unable to look her guardian in the face.

Then there came a silence, where the only sounds in the room were Kyoshi's labored breathing, and Grandmother's tapping foot.

"You have straw in your hair, Kyoshi," Grandmother chided, none-too-gently. "Where were you?"

Kyoshi's response was breathless. "On the roof, Grandmother."

The old woman suddenly threw her hands up in the air, her calm anger gone. "On the roof? _On the roof?_ Kyoshi! You were supposed to be cleaning the kitchen!"

"I know, Grandm—"

"What were you _doing_ up there? Daydreaming while humming a song? Braiding a crown of flowers? Sleeping?"

"Sleeping, Grandmother."

"_Sleeping?_" Her grandmother's mouth worked up and down for a moment, as if she had something to say, but couldn't find the air. Kyoshi looked back down at the floor, abashed.

"I'll clean it now, Grandmother."

"Yes, you will!" Apparently she had found her voice again. She took a broom from behind her and shoved it into Kyoshi's waiting hands. "You're nearly 16, Kyoshi. It's time for you to start taking some responsibility." All at once, Grandmother seemed to sag. When she looked at Kyoshi again, the girl noticed a certain sadness buried deep behind her eyes. "You've been nothing but trouble, Kyoshi. Staying out past curfew, going out to play while leaving the pies burning in the oven, forgetting to feed the animals…Why don't you listen to me? Why are you so…"

The words trailed off into silence. Kyoshi felt her guilt rising inside her like bile. "I'm sorry, Grandmother."

The old woman sighed. "No, you're not. Saying the words can only do so much, Kyoshi. If you don't mean them, it won't make you or me feel any better." She turned and walked away, brushing past Kyoshi as she did so. Kyoshi noticed that her walk was weaker now, and her back was bent over more.

She had never realized how old her Grandmother was.

-x-x-

The wicker basket fit nicely into the crook of her elbow, swinging as she walked down the street. A couple of days had passed, and her hair was neatly in a bun. Against her Grandmother's wishes, she had worn her new dress; it was an emerald green to complement her eyes, and fastened around her waist with a golden rope. She had even put makeup on for the occasion—black eyeliner, with a little bit of lipstick.

It was market day.

Grandmother had been feeling too tired to go, and Kyoshi understood perfectly. The market was crowded and loud. There was much walking, standing, and listening to talkative people who only wanted to speak about useless things, like the harvest or the weather. So she had sent Kyoshi.

She found the things on her list very quickly; she was used to the marketplace, and knew exactly where to go and how to get there. First came the butter, then the bread, then the fruits and berries, then the cheese…

She made her way over to an empty corner of the street, glancing at her basket. Good-quality things, for good prices. It was the largest advantage of the market, and it was the reason why so many people turned out for it. She took out her coin purse. When she looked in, she was surprised to see so many coins at the bottom. Apparently, she had been a very good bargain-shopper. Should she buy something now? Or bring the money back home to Grandmother?

She should buy something. Something _for_ Grandmother. She had been so tired…so weary. Old age was beginning to catch up to her, Kyoshi suspected. How about a nice dress, to make her feel young again? Or a beautiful necklace?

The girl melted back into the throng, the perfect market stall in mind. The owner was a rather large woman by the name of Lixian, and she always gave out good bargains. Lixian waved to Kyoshi as she approached, looking cheerful.

"Kyoshi, my girl! How are you?"

"Good, thank you," Kyoshi replied with a smile, looking over the wares. There were quite a few good things she could buy for Grandmother. There was a nice maroon dress with silver trimmings, a silver necklace with a winged pig as a pendant, a nice bangle bracelet with green ribbon—

"Hey look, it's Bigfoot. Looking for something to make you more beautiful, Blobby?" Kyoshi stiffened. Every bone in her body was screaming at her to run, run, run…

"Ha, that's a lost cause, eh boys? Nothing could make Blobby beautiful."

"Her dress is prettier than her!"

A boy suddenly gripped her chin, turning it sharply to face the group of boys behind her. They were all around her age, and they were all dirty and ragged. The boy holding her chin laughed obnoxiously. "Lookie here, boys! She's wearin' makeup!"

The boys howled with laughter. Kyoshi blushed furiously, her green eyes flashing with humiliation and anger.

"The makeup only makes her uglier!" one of them crowed.

"Brings out her Puke-Eyes!"

Kyoshi slapped away the boy's hand; it wasn't a hard slap, but he was so surprised, he dropped her chin right away. He threw her a shocked and angry glance, but she had already turned away.

Lixian was stammering, trying to calm the girl down. "Listen, Kyoshi, th-they don't know wh-what they're saying…"

Kyoshi slammed a hand down on her table, scaring the wits out of the large woman. "Yes they do," she hissed softly. She quickly chose several objects of makeup, gathering them into her arms, and rushed behind Lixian's stall curtain.

As she had suspected, there was a mirror and a dressing table there. Lixian had always liked to look her best. Kyoshi spread out the tins of makeup, and began to work.

She didn't know what made her paint her face the way she did. It was a combination of all things, really. Her Grandmother, the first time she had seen the girl, pinched her cheeks and said, 'Daughter, your girl is so pale!'

So Kyoshi painted her face white.

Her eyebrows had often been a target of mockery. 'Look at Little Miss Bushy-Brow over there. It looks like she's growin' a forest on her forehead!'

So Kyoshi painted them arched and beautiful.

When she had first tried on makeup, it had been red blush. Her Grandmother had immediately said, 'Kyoshi, red doesn't go well on you at all. Here, try some gold.'

So Kyoshi painted her lips and eyelids red.

-x-x-

She stormed out from behind the curtain like a wild animal, her eyes glinting with fury. Astonishment was on the faces of all the boys when they first saw her, but she knew they would be laughing soon. She knew she looked ridiculous with all the face paint.

So she wouldn't give them the chance to laugh.

"How ugly do I look _now,_ you _ass_?" she roared, pitching a makeup tin at the first boy's head. It struck him between the eyes, making him cry out and stagger backwards. The boy behind him was struck in the stomach with the heavy tin of white paint; he let out all his breath in a _whoosh_, and doubled over. Another boy was hit in the eye with lip paint. His cry was loudest of all.

"_Tell me!_" she screeched, advancing on them with no makeup left, her hands clenched into fists. "How ugly do I look?!"

One boy started to laugh; she could see the hilarity in his eyes, the way his face was scrunched up when he tried to hold it in.

One good, solid punch knocked his head the other way. He wasn't laughing now. Another boy received a hard kick to the knee. She struck yet another one in the chin with her elbow.

"Let's go boys, let's go! We'll get her back for this another day!" the leader was shouting; the boy who had taken her by the chin. His companions followed eagerly, now afraid of this crazed, clown-faced girl.

No one in the crowd had noticed the scene.

Kyoshi carefully picked up each tin, noting that the first one she had thrown—the black, the one that hit the boy between the eyes—was dented.

She slammed the pouch of coins on Lixian's counter, feeling tears burning behind her eyes. Lixian looked positively terrified.

"I'm sorry," she told the woman, walking away towards home, basket in hand.

-x-x-

Grandmother hadn't seen her when she walked into the house, her steps slow. "Is that you, Kyoshi?" she had called from the other room.

"Yes, Grandmother," she had replied.

"Leave the basket on the table, dear."

"Yes, Grandmother." As soon as the basket touched the wood of the table, Kyoshi was already running up the stairs, sprinting for the comforts of her room.

She ran in, closing the door behind her and locking it. Then she sagged, sliding down against the wood to sit on the floor. She rested her head on her arms, and began to cry.

She was silent. Her sobs were merely gasps, inaudible to anyone outside her room. Her tears rolled down her white cheeks without a sound. Why was the world so cruel? Why was she so ugly?

Puke-eyes.

She had always been proud of her green eyes. When the boys mocked them, saying that they were the color of moldy seaweed or of puke, she felt her own heart clenching painfully. Why did they have to make fun of the one thing that made her feel good about herself?

She got up, walking over to the mirror by her bedside. Her own reflection scared her; she clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle the gasp.

The make-up was now tearstained, but it made no difference.

She wasn't ugly anymore.

Or, at least, no one could see how ugly she was. The make-up covered it entirely. Now she was just a girl with strange make-up—that was all.

She stared at her reflection for a few minutes longer, then she let out her breath in a huge sigh. No matter what paint she put on her face, she would always be ugly. The paint would just hide it. Her movements were weary now. She felt like an old woman as she slowly took the facecloth from the bowl beside her, and gently wiped away the paint from her face.

She would always be ugly. Now she just had a new way to hide it.


	2. The Avatar

**AN:: Hm. Sorry this took a while, my muse was off somewhere celebrating New Year's…I lost a little bit of inspiration.**

**That last chapter was rather boring, wasn't it? I decided to start this one a little bit later, when she starts her journey as the Avatar. More exciting.**

**I've explained the face paint. Now all I need to explain are those golden fans. **

"I wish you would take that ridiculous face paint off."

"No, Grandmother," Kyoshi said firmly, trying to keep her voice respectful.

"You look like a clown."

There had been many conversations like this, and they were all starting to sound the same. Whenever Kyoshi chose to paint her face, her Grandmother would harass her to wash it off, saying that she was embarrassing herself, that she looked ludicrous…but the girl noted that Grandmother never ordered her to wash it off. Not directly. This small act (or lack thereof) gave Kyoshi just a bit of confidence, and kept her from running to her room to clean her face.

They were walking along the streets of Ba Sing Se, looking travel-weary and tired. Although they had just bought new clothes, showered, and put up their hair, their eyes still had that glazed look that often comes from a long voyage.

A message had come to their village two weeks ago, summoning Kyoshi and her grandmother to the capital by the order of the Earth King. They had packed and left immediately, and hadn't stopped moving since. It was a long way, over deserts and hills and rivers, to reach the walled city. Kyoshi felt like she had spent a lifetime away from home. (Grandmother had commented that it often feels like that on your first time away.)

The highest level of the city loomed above them to their left. The division of the city into rings seemed arbitrary and exclusive to Kyoshi, but she said nothing. It wasn't her right to judge the city-dwellers, although they were certainly different than the villagers. They held themselves higher, they walked with more confidence, laughed louder, talked louder…everything was bigger, more dramatic, funnier, and more important. It made her feel small in comparison.

"I feel like the river fish that just landed in the ocean," she commented softly to Grandmother. Grandmother only snorted, and changed the topic:

"That makeup looks silly. We could have bought you some nice makeup, not clown paint."

"I'm not going to see the Earth King without it," she replied with a small frown. As ridiculous as she may have looked, she couldn't let the Earth King see her true face. Her ugly face. She wanted to make an impression. And if she looked like a clown, so be it. It would show that she had at least some confidence; that she wasn't some poor river fish, thrown into the ocean. She was strong.

At least, she wanted it to look that way from the outside.

Grandmother made a 'tsk' noise. "It would look much better with your hair down, Kyoshi," she said, reaching up to unclip the girl's bun. Before Kyoshi could react, her dark brown hair had already fallen, draping around her face like a silk curtain. She glanced at her grandmother, horrified—

—and for a second, just a split second, she thought she saw a real smile come over her grandmother's face.

Then it was gone, hidden, concealed, and Grandmother was studying her face with an expression of distaste. "Well, it looks _better_ anyway," she said gruffly, turning forward again.

Kyoshi felt her heart lift.

-x-x-

"Your Majesty: I present Hania and Kyoshi, of the village of Chen Di."

The hall wasn't as big as Kyoshi had originally imagined. Giant columns lined either side of the room, leading up to the throne with an ornate red carpet. The ceiling was high and vaulted, with golden designs embossed into it. The King himself sat on a relatively simple throne, only a few steps above the floor where Kyoshi and her grandmother were now kneeling.

"You may stand." The King's voice was deep, Kyoshi noticed. It also sounded somewhat amused. She took this to be a good thing.

They obeyed, and both of them glanced up at his face. He was a middle-aged man, although the kingship had given him multiple gray hairs. He had both a mustache and a beard surrounding his smiling mouth, with crow's feet beside his large brown eyes. He looked like a kind man: one who smiled and laughed a lot. His waist was wide, but Kyoshi—whose waist was less than attractive—did not mind at all. It gave him almost a jolly sort of look; and it was obvious from his muscles that he did not always have such a belly.

He caught her gaze, and his eyebrows knitted together.

Oh. Her face paint.

She immediately dropped her eyes and stared at the floor, bowing her head. She thanked her grandmother silently for letting her hair down—it threw her face into shadows.

"We came as quickly as we could when we received your summons, Majesty," she heard her grandmother say beside her. "However, we live very far away. We apologize for not getting here sooner."

"It's no matter, no matter," the King said cheerfully. Kyoshi dared to look up through her eyelashes: he was waving a hand dismissively, as if shooing away the very idea that they had offended him. "You're here now, are you not? And that's the point. Believe it or not, you came on a very good day. The perfect day. Miss Kyoshi!"

"Yes, Your Majesty?" she replied quietly.

There was a brief silence.

The throne creaked a little as the man stood up, and she almost felt his footsteps reverberating in the floor under her feet as he walked towards her. All of the sudden, she felt his fingers gripping her chin, forcing her to look up into his face.

As she had suspected, she saw kindness in his eyes. But something else as well; it was almost pleading, apologetic. "This will not do, Miss Kyoshi. You have no need to be afraid. If you have something to say, say it loud. Be confident. You will not be hurt, exiled, or sent out of this palace while I am here. Is that understood?"

His voice was so soft, so gentle yet so firm, Kyoshi was instantly reminded of her mother. She had often used the exact same tone.

"Yes, I understand," she said, a little louder this time. The King threw her a smile, and let go of her chin.

"That's much better," he told her pleasantly as he released her chin. He turned and began walking towards the throne, his hands clasped behind his back. "Now, as I was saying. You have come on the perfect day. Do you know what day it is?"

Both Grandmother and Kyoshi stood in a slightly stunned silence. "We don't quite know, Your Majesty," Grandmother said hesitantly. "We've been traveling so long, you see—"

He turned to face them, and Grandmother let her voice fade. "It's Kyoshi's 16th birthday," he said quietly with a small smile, glancing in her direction. Kyoshi felt a jolt of surprise.

"How did you know that?" she found herself demanding. Almost instantly, she clapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide with shock. _Did she just say that to the Earth King?_

He, however, grinned. "We've been watching you for years, Kyoshi."

To say that she was astounded would have been an understatement. She could barely breathe.

"Do you remember the toys you picked out as a child?"

She nodded. A red top, a miniature gliding contraption, and a small, decorative water jug. She had completely forgotten about that day. She had been barely more than a toddler, clasping her mother's hand tightly as they walked into the temple. Those three toys had caught her eye immediately, and she would take no others but them. They had sat on a shelf in her room for some time.

The Earth King walked to his throne and sat in it, resting his chin on his clasped hands in front of him. She could tell he was holding in laughter; his eyes shone bright with amusement. "Those toys were very special. As soon as you chose them, temple guardians across the world were notified. You've been watched from the beginning, guarded by people you have never met, so that you would be sure to survive until this day. You, Kyoshi, are the Avatar."

The silence that met these words was a long one. No one in the room moved. Not even the Earth King's advisor, standing in a far corner. Grandmother said not a word, the expression on her face frozen as one of complete and utter astonishment. The Earth King was still watching them both with suppressed amusement.

And Kyoshi…

The girl couldn't breathe. Not at all. She tried to take a breath, but absolutely nothing happened. She felt like someone was squeezing her chest, clenching at her heart. Her knees were suddenly like jelly, but with all the strength in her body, she willed them to hold her up. She would not fall.

It took a while for her to get her breath back enough to speak. "There…there must be some mistake," she whispered. "There must be."

The King raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And why is that?"

Kyoshi found that she couldn't look at him. Instead, her emerald gaze was drawn to the elaborate red carpet beneath her feet. "I'm…I'm nothing but a villager. An orphan, and an ugly one at that. I can't bend, I can't fight—"

"Oho! That's not entirely true, Miss Kyoshi, is it?" She looked up at him with a puzzled frown.

"Isn't it?" she replied blankly.

"I heard you gave some scoundrels a run for their money a couple of weeks ago."

"…Oh." He had heard about that? How closely had she been watched? How much did he know? How much had he heard?

This was ridiculous. Already he knew more about her than her own Grandmother did. She had never told her about the fight, and already the older woman was looking at Kyoshi, surprised to hear of it.

"And ugly?" the Earth King continued. "No, my dear. Ugliness is always on the inside. And I can already tell by looking at you that you are not ugly." He peered at her, his eyes twinkling. "Is that why you wear the face paint?"

Kyoshi straightened, glaring at him slightly. "I wear the face paint because I don't care how I look, and I want people to know it," she lied, her voice as loud and confident as she could make it.

The King did not look fooled, but he smiled and sat back in his chair all the same. "It looks quite nice on you, actually. I was going to compliment it." (Against her will, a small warmth came to Kyoshi's heart.) "Now, on to business. You obviously have some work to do."

Kyoshi bowed her head, subdued. "Obviously."

-x-x-

She heard Grandmother's steps coming closer. She could recognize them now—soft, shuffling, yet confident and sure. She buried her face deeper into her arms, clutching her knees tighter to her chest. Grandmother would be able to find her anyway, even if she leapt up and ran. It was inevitable.

The steps stopped in front of her. All she could hear was her breathing, slightly raspy with old age. Kyoshi did not move.

All of the sudden, she could hear clothing rustling, and something landed on the ground right in front of her. She lifted her head to see her grandmother, sitting cross-legged in front of her, looking sad.

Their expressions matched.

Without a word, Kyoshi got up on her knees and threw her arms around the old woman with a soft cry, and her grandmother did the same. "I don't want to go," the girl whispered. "I don't, I don't, I don't."

"We all must do things we don't want to do," Grandmother whispered back. "You should be proud, granddaughter. Very proud. You're the _Avatar_."

"I don't feel proud," she said simply. Then she winced; her words were those of a child.

"Well, then. I'm proud of you, Kyoshi."

Kyoshi felt her eyes burn. _I'm proud of you, Kyoshi._

They released each other slowly. Kyoshi rocked back on her heels, sitting back down across from her grandmother. The old woman reached into the pocket of her dress, pulling out a long, thin package wrapped in cloth. "I was going to give you these on your wedding night," Grandmother said softly, unwrapping it with trembling fingers. "But I think you should take them with you. Perhaps it will ward away some homesickness."

The cloth was now open, draped across Grandmother's hand. Laying across it were two golden fans, folded and laying side by side.

Kyoshi gasped quietly, reaching out to take one of them. "Oh, Grandmother…" she whispered, unfolding it. It was entirely made of gold-plated metal. Painted on one side were red flowers with twisted vines, while the other side was blank.

"They were your great-great grandmother's," she said, looking at them affectionately. "I passed them down to your mother on her wedding night. I decided to keep them for you when…when she died."

Kyoshi took the other fan, unfolding it as well. It was identical in every way. Their weight felt comforting in her hands; she knew it would not feel that way if they had been paper. The metal was cool and smooth to the touch.

She closed them with two brisk _snap_s, placing them off to the side.

"If you don't want them," Grandmother began, looking anxious. "I can take them back home, it's no problem, I—" She didn't get a chance to finish: Kyoshi threw her arms around her again, holding her tighter this time.

"I love them, Grandmother," she whispered. "I absolutely love them. I'll keep them safe, I promise."

Grandmother's embrace became tighter and tighter. "I know you will," she said in a choked voice.

Kyoshi had never seen her Grandmother so close to crying.

"Kyoshi, the King awaits you!" a herald called, emerging from the palace doors beside them. They separated again, matching tears streaming down their faces. Matching hearts beginning to break.

"Go," Grandmother said firmly, wiping her face. "Go and become the Avatar. Face your destiny."

Kyoshi took the fans, sheathing them in her belt on opposite sides of her waist. "I'll come back, Grandmother, I promise," she told her, standing and wiping the tears off of her own face. Grandmother waved her on, her face becoming ever wetter.

The herald took Kyoshi by the arm, leading her back into the palace.

Kyoshi stole one last glance over her shoulder at Grandmother. The old woman was still sitting on the floor, alone, clutching the cloth wrapping in white-knuckled hands.

Once more, Kyoshi marveled that she had never before seen Grandmother cry.

**AN:: Well, how was it?**

**Ah, it will get SO much more exciting from here on out! All the bending, the spirit lessons…and just wait until you meet Kelikko!**

**Please review, I love ANYTHING that you say. Even if it's just something like, "Interesting." Or, "Caught my attention, anyway." Or, "Grow up. Seriously." Or, "I really think you need some English lessons." **

**I don't care. I love all of you.**


	3. Earth: Chapter 1

AN:: Ah, such angsty drama between her and her grandmother. I almost think it was a little too dramatic, you know? Kinda simple. Chicken Soup for the Soul, heartbreaking drama. Ick.

**I'll try to avoid that in the future. **

**Thank you for the reviews. They keep me going, they really do.**

"Your earthbending master, Avatar Kyoshi."

The man standing in front of her did not look like an earthbending master. He was tall, but with narrow shoulders and an even smaller waist. His arms and legs were thin, his face was round with youth, and he had an abnormally long neck. He turned around as Kyoshi and her guard walked into the meeting chamber, and smiled at the sight of her.

Kyoshi couldn't help but smile back.

"Avatar, it is an honor to be your instructor," he told her eagerly, rushing forward to kneel at her feet. She stepped back a little, shocked.

"Oh! No need to kneel, master…"

"Taru. Master Taru," he said, leaping to his feet. He had vibrant green eyes to match Kyoshi's own, and a mess of brown hair that often covered them. He looked awfully young and skinny to be an earthbending master. Weren't they supposed to be short and thick?

He had big feet, anyway.

"Taru," she repeated, giving him a friendly smile. He looked like the youthful, energetic type, and his enthusiasm was absolutely contagious. "It is very nice to meet you. You can call me Kyoshi."

"Then I shall," he said happily, clapping his hands together. "I'll show you to your chambers, give you some time to recuperate, and then we'll go down to the training grounds in two days time. Does that sound acceptable?"

This meeting was going by rather fast. He certainly cut to the chase. (Another trait typical of earthbenders. Perhaps he was a true master after all, despite his appearance.)

"Erm, yes. That's fine," she replied, her mind still trying to catch up.

"Excellent!"

And the meeting was over.

Her life barreled forward in a similar fashion for several weeks after that.

-x-x-

In simply two days, Kyoshi was already adapting to palace life. The meals were announced by bells in the courtyard, and all the palace inhabitants ate in the same Great Hall. Kyoshi was given a choice place next to the Earth King. He quickly had her laughing with several jokes about a koi fish and a platypus bear in a Pai Sho tournament, and the person sitting on her other side—her master, Taru—had an equal share of jokes at his disposal. She found him to be a very amusing and fun-loving man, full of young spark and energy. He was always moving, always speaking, always doing _something_. It was invigorating just to be in his presence.

She went back to her chambers after her second dinner at the Earth Kingdom palace. They were spacious rooms, with wide windows that were open to the city. She could see all the rings, all the way to the outer wall on a clear day. That evening, the sun was setting right above the edge of the outer wall, enveloping her room in a fiery light.

She sighed, catching sight of herself in the mirror as she walked by. She hadn't been in public without her makeup. Not since her arrival in Ba Sing Se. Taru hadn't said a word about it, but she had received strange looks from many people in passing.

True to her Grandmother, she always kept her hair down. (Although she assumed she would have to cut it once she started earthbending. She was waiting for the command from Taru; she wouldn't do it until then.) She had also found a simple golden headband in the wardrobe the Earth King had graciously given her, and had used it to her advantage. Added to the brown and gold dress, she looked almost like nobility.

And she never regretted the makeup for a second. It really did make her look better—much better than if she had gone without it.

A breeze ruffled her curtains, waking her from her thoughts. With a sigh, she took her headband off, as well as the jewelry she had borrowed from the King. Then she went to untie her belt—

—but a weight stopped her. Two weights, actually.

Her golden fans.

She had slipped them into her belt everyday, just to feel them there. She hadn't used them, hadn't shown them to anyone.

Feeling a sudden compulsion, she whipped them out, letting them fall open. How were you supposed to hold a fan? Three fingers in front? Four? She decided on three, letting the edge of the fan fall between her first finger and thumb. It felt comfortable there.

The mirror still sat in front of her, reflecting her thoughtful expression. It was certainly unique, having solid metal fans. Fans were supposed to be paper; silk, if they were nice. Were these merely ornaments, meant only to sit on the mantle, looking pretty? Maybe they were supposed to hang on the wall?

She frowned, swinging one of them downwards experimentally. It made a metallic ringing sound as it swung through the air, reminding her of the swords that the entertainer had thrown around during dinner.

Swords.

Her curtains were fluttering into her room, lifting and flying in the breeze. She turned towards them, calculating her actions. Then, in a decisive movement, she swung her right fan at the end of the curtain.

With the same metallic ringing, the fan whistled through the air in a large golden arc. A sheaf of curtain fabric fluttered to the floor.

Kyoshi gasped, taking a step backwards from the severed end of the curtain. It writhed on the floor in the wind as if of its own accord, as if it were alive.

Disconcerted and half-frightened, she picked it up quickly and threw it out the window. It caught the breeze, instantly flying over the city and out of sight.

Kyoshi watched the place where it had vanished for a long time, standing with her hands (still holding her fans) leaning on the windowsill. The breeze felt wonderful against her skin, and the sun still gave her warmth even as it was fading below the horizon. She closed her eyes, soaking in the moment.

She remembered a boy, stealing her basket of flowers, all the while calling her Bigfoot and Ostrichface.

She remembered girls, jumping around her and singing, 'Puke-Eyes, Puke-Eyes, we promise that we don't lie…Puke-Eyes, Puke-Eyes…'

She remembered her friend Janko, led away by other boys. She could hear them whisper to him: 'She's boring, Janko. Come on, you can play with us.' She remembered him looking over his shoulder at her, and remembered that it was the last time he ever spoke to her.

Her hands tightened over her fans, and they felt even more natural in her grasp. These weren't just for decoration. She was meant to have them. They were built for her hands, for her use, for her defense. They were hers. For her to complete her destiny.

Had Grandmother known?

She opened her eyes with a sigh, calming her thoughts and her churning heart. She didn't need to be so dramatic. Destiny was whatever fate laid out for her, nothing more. The fans were a gift, a gift that she needed to use. That was all. Simple. Realistic.

She would survive.

Her glance was drawn downward, where she saw a flash of blue. Bright shades were foreign in Ba Sing Se, where most of the colors involved brown, green, gold, or silver. (It was almost monochromatic, to Kyoshi's eyes, and she sometimes craved for more of a variety.)

It was the robe of a man, obviously from the Water Tribe, walking with several companions dressed in a similar manner. There were four of them, to be exact. The man Kyoshi had spotted appeared to be the oldest, and the leader. Three of them were tall, with beards and ponytails and boots, fitting the stereotypical image of Water Tribe sailors she had always imagined. The fourth, however, was shorter and younger. If she had to estimate, she would guess that he was about her age. The sides and back of his head were shaved, and the remaining hair was gathered into a ponytail. He still carried the typical Water Tribe weapons in his belt, but he looked slightly out of place amongst the stronger, taller, older warriors.

Even as she watched him, walking down the street below her, he suddenly looked up as if he had felt her gaze.

Their eyes caught.

He looked surprised. Most likely he was astonished to see a young teenage girl with strange face paint leaning out of an upper palace window, but Kyoshi only thought of her face paint after the fact. The more important thing, at the forefront of her mind:

A smile slowly came over his face, and he waved up at her.

At first, she was too shocked to do anything. Then, timidly, she smiled and gave a small wave in return.

The adults of the group noticed that he had fallen behind, and started to push and pull him along. He did so willingly. But after about 5 steps, he looked back over his shoulder at her.

And he smiled again.

Kyoshi laughed quietly to herself, smiling back and giving another wave. His smile widened, and he walked on, surrounded by Water Tribe warriors.

Kyoshi retreated into her room, barely aware of the fact that she still held her fans. The smile still lingered on her face from her laughter, and stayed there for the rest of the evening.

That night, she dreamt of a Water Tribe boy's smile. And she couldn't help but smile back.

-x-x-

"Will I have to cut my hair?"

Taru glanced at her sideways, grinning. "It _would_ be more efficient, and it would be a whole lot easier for you, personally. But I'm not going to force you to."

Kyoshi tapped her lip as she walked beside him. "I don't know yet. It certainly has disadvantages, being long. I think keeping it that way would only be vain."

"Makes sense, I suppose," Taru replied, taking a key from his belt and sticking it into the lock of the giant oak door in front of them. "I would, if I were you." The lock opened with a loud _click_, and Taru pulled it open. "After you, Kyoshi," he said with a bow and a smile. Kyoshi grinned in return, walking in.

The training area was large. It was almost like an amphitheatre, with verandas and railings in some places along the circular walls. The entire arena was closed in, earthen, with a domed ceiling and a packed earth floor.

"This is big." It was all she could say. She had never seen such a vast room in her life. It was even larger than the throne room. Taru approached her from behind, chuckling.

"Yes, it is," he agreed jovially. "Shall we begin?" She nodded, feeling her insides clench with nervousness. Even the weight of her fans, which she had secured to her belt again, did not give her as much comfort as she would have liked.

Taru moved immediately to the center of the arena, then whirled to face her. "Ready?"

"For what?" she quickly responded, a small amount of panic beginning to come over her.

Before she could even think, he had taken a stance, planted his front foot, and twisted it sharply. In an instant, a crack erupted, racing towards her at a speed almost too fast for her to follow. Reacting on instinct only, she leapt away, rolling to land on one knee.

"Good reflexes!" Taru exclaimed without shifting his stance. "But that's not earthbending!"

"I can't earthbend!" she cried in response, but before she could even finish her sentence, he had already sent another fissure her way. She leapt to the side again, landing on her bottom this time. Scrambling to her feet, she could see the amusement in Taru's eyes. "This isn't funny!" she shouted back at him.

"Why? Because you just landed on your ass? I find that _very_ funny, actually."

Oh, Spirits. He was losing his mind.

He shifted his stance incrementally again, and the earth cracked beneath her feet even quicker than before. With a gasp, she was thrown off-balance in her attempt to avoid it, and nearly landed on her head—

—a column of earth erupted from the ground behind her, catching her before she could fall.

"Now, this won't do," she heard Taru say from the center of the arena. "Where's your stance? An earthbending stance is the center of his power, the core of his strength. Without it, he wouldn't be able to command the strongest element of them all. Now _stand_."

The column of earth behind her thrust her upwards sharply, and she found herself on her feet. Obeying without even realizing it, she spread her feet and made a solid stance.

"Good!" Taru exclaimed. "Now, block this next crack. It's easy, just shoot earth in the opposite direction of the crack. You'll block it instantly, like sticking a cork in a waterfall."

Kyoshi could feel her heart race as she watched his feet, trying to notice and mimic any movement he made. He simply twisted his foot and…_stamped _it. Without picking it up first.

A crack snaked its way towards her, although it was a little slower this time. She attempted to copy her teacher: her foot twisted inwards, she moved it forward, and stamped downwards and forwards at the crack.

With a soft 'boom', the crack stopped in its tracks, as if it had hit a wall.

Taru laughed. Kyoshi blushed.


	4. Earth: Chapter 2

AN:: I'm sorry I haven't been keeping up with this fic. My inspiration was a little lost. Plus, I had almost absolutely no time.

**But I'm on vacation now, so I should get at least two chapters in. One would hope, anyway. **

**I really am sorry, and I hope none of you have given up on me!**

Several weeks had passed since Kyoshi's original meeting with Taru. She quickly found that earthbending came very naturally to her—a pleasant surprise. Her master had said that he had never tutored a better student. She had replied that he had never taught the Avatar.

He was forced to agree.

She lay on her side in bed, fast asleep. Golden rays of sunlight were just beginning to leak into the room, giving the gossamer curtains an ethereal glow as they fluttered. The spacious chambers looked no more personal than they had when Kyoshi had first received them; it was apparent that training had taken up the vast majority of her time. Her arms and legs looked stronger, and she had definitely lost quite a bit of weight. The light sheets of her bed clung to her skin, outlining her form. She wore a golden nightgown, and her black hair lay loose around her shoulders.

A tremendous shattering sound broke the morning silence.

Kyoshi bolted upright, sending the sheets flying and leaping to the floor. Pounding footsteps resounded all around the palace, and guards began to shout out in the hallway outside and the courtyard below her window. She rushed to her door, tearing it open. Guards rushed past her without a glance.

Ah. Her makeup. She was unrecognizable without it. Perhaps that would work to her advantage—she could investigate without people bowing before talking to her.

Everyone had run off. She was now alone in the hall. Tentatively, she began to walk towards the courtyard, shutting the door behind her. _Something large must have been broken_, she thought. It had been such a loud sound! Perhaps a giant glass sculpture? Were there any in the palace? Her mind immediately tried to remember if she had seen anything large and breakable in the palace during her stay.

With her thoughts in a jumble, and her heart still racing from the noise that had scared her from sleep, she didn't see the boy until it was too late.

"OW!" they both exclaimed at the same time, as their heads banged together. Hands flew to their temples, eyes closed tight.

Kyoshi opened her eyes tentatively, looking up from underneath her hand with caution. The sight shocked her: a boy with dark brown hair, pulled back from his face, wearing a blue tunic that brought out the color of his eyes.

He opened his eyes as well, and Kyoshi quickly wiped all signs of recognition from her face. She didn't have her makeup. He wouldn't remember her. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" he began, eyes wide with apology. Kyoshi smiled and held up a hand.

"No, I'm sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going; I was trying to find out what that shattering was. Do you know what happened?"

He immediately looked shifty, but visibly tried to hide it. "I…I don't know," he replied. The struggle to keep a straight face was apparent. "I was going to find out."

Kyoshi raised an eyebrow. "It came from the courtyard," she said simply. "You're heading away from it."

"Oh…yes. Yes I am. I was just going to…see if maybe—"

The sound of guards shouting reached their ears, emanating from a nearby staircase. Both of them looked at the doorway, then back at each other.

Kyoshi made a split-second decision.

"Come on," she said firmly, taking his hand and pulling him along with her. "You can hide in my room." He looked surprised, but pleased all the same.

"Great! Thanks—"

"Hush. They'll hear you."

He shut his mouth after a quick, mumbled apology. Kyoshi stole a glance at him—did he look a little intimidated, or was that her imagination? Maybe he was just embarrassed to be led around by a girl.

Well, tough.

Maybe that earthbending was starting to rub off on her personality.

She pulled him into her room, closing the door promptly behind her. "There. They won't look in here."

"Why not?" the boy asked from the middle of the room, where Kyoshi had inadvertently flung him as she yanked him through the doorway.

She was at a loss for words. The real reason was because she was the Avatar, and no guard would look for a culprit in the Avatar's room. No guard in their right mind, anyway. "Because they've been given express permission not to disturb me," she said simply, shrugging as if it were something of casual conversation. His eyes widened slightly.

"Really? Who are you?"

Kyoshi couldn't hide the blush that quickly crept over her face. She wouldn't be able to lie this time. The boy and his Water Tribe companions were staying at the palace—they would know if she made up a name. And they would be able to find her, to ask questions.

Should she just tell him that she was the Avatar? Perhaps he had already guessed—but no. It was now well known that Avatar Kyoshi never went anywhere without makeup. No one but Grandmother and the people of her village knew her true face.

"My family is visiting the Earth King," she said vaguely, turning to her bed and neatening the sheets—she found that she could not look him in the eye when she lied. His vibrant blue eyes seemed to see right through her. Pounding footsteps echoed in the hallway outside. "I'm Layne."

The boy smiled, but it was a tentative smile, as if he wasn't quite sure whether or not to trust her. Her stomach clenched with nervousness. "I'm Kelikko," he said, swinging a fist into his chest and keeping it there in a Water Tribe salute. Rather old-fashioned, but the sentiment was appreciated all the same. Kyoshi's smile grew brighter.

"It's very nice to meet you, Kelikko," she responded, making a sweeping motion with her arm from her chest to her knee. It was the feminine equivalent of Kelikko's gesture. Both salutations were outdated and barely-used, but Grandmother had tutored Kyoshi in ancient culture for a long time.

The tentative smile turned into a grin. "And it is very nice to meet you," he said happily, seating himself in a chair in the corner of the room. "Are you staying here long?"

Kyoshi nodded. "We're going to be here a while. At least, that's what my father says. Are you?"

Kelikko grinned, looking proud. "I'm transporting the Avatar."

"What?" Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion—she was leaning forward without realizing it. He shrugged as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"My father is the captain of the Avatar's ship," he explained. "We're taking her to the Fire Nation, then the Western Air Temple, then the North Pole."

So she would be seeing a lot of this boy. Strange that he would never connect Layne with Kyoshi. Would he ever talk to Layne again? The ugly noble girl?

Would he ever talk to Kyoshi, the all-powerful Avatar?

Kyoshi wouldn't talk to either of them, in his place. But he would be forced to talk to both.

"Sounds prestigious," she said, genuinely impressed. "How'd you get to go on that trip?"

"My father's the chief of the Southern Water Tribe," he replied. Pride shone in his face and expression. "This is my first voyage away from the South Pole."

She knew from her cultural lessons that the first voyage was a very big coming-of-age event for young men in his nation. "Good for you," she said sincerely, smiling. "I hope it all goes well for you."

The pride in his face flickered somewhat. "I hope so too," he said. It appeared he was half-talking to himself, as his gaze shifted from her to the bedpost on his left. "I've heard lots of horror stories about boys going off on their first voyage. Terrible things happen sometimes, when you're inexperienced."

His sudden insecurity was disturbing Kyoshi; she had the sudden urge to give him a comforting hug, or a pat on the shoulder. "I'm sure that won't happen," she said confidently in an attempt to cheer him up. "You've been preparing for this trip for a long time, haven't you?" He looked up, nodding. "Then you shouldn't have any problems. You have your father with you. He won't let anything happen." Her smile widened. "And I'm sure you're a better sailor than you give yourself credit for."

A slow smile began to spread across Kelikko's face. It looked nice on him, that smile. It was different than the happy smirk he seemed to usually carry. It was more sincere, brighter. And Kyoshi felt herself matching his smile, genuinely happy.

A knock sounded at the door. "Avatar Kyoshi! Avatar Kyoshi!"

Kelikko's smile faded instantly; as did Kyoshi's. She leapt to her feet, walking to the door and opening it to reveal an abashed guard.

"I'm sorry, Avatar," he said, looking at his feet. "I know we aren't supposed to disturb you."

She sighed inwardly, but gently gestured for him to continue. "Go on," she told him, a hand on her hip. The door was only half-open, making herself visible but hiding Kelikko from sight.

"We're looking for a miscreant who is hiding somewhere in the palace. We have been unable to find him—" At this, the guard looked terribly embarrassed, and his blush grew. "—so we come to you as a last resort, to ask if he is perhaps concealed in your chambers."

"No, he is not," Kyoshi said simply. "What was the shattering sound this morning?"

"Oh. Well, all the water had been taken from our courtyard fountain and turned to ice. Apparently the ice fell and shattered on the stone path. The visiting waterbenders are putting all the water back as we speak. We believe it was the young waterbender who did it."

"Do you think he did it on purpose?" she asked him, raising an eyebrow and frowning. He shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably.

"Well…no…"

"Then where is the crime? Certainly when a young waterbender wishes to practice his craft outside of the frozen wastes, he may do so within the protection of the Earth Kingdom palace? Did he break or damage anything besides his own ice creation?"

"Well…no…"

"And the water is being put back into the fountain?"

"Yes."

"Then stop looking for him. He is no criminal, and you have probably terrified him half to death with your stomping and shouting. Let him go, and he will reappear sometime later to claim credit for the accident. His father will discipline him as he sees fit."

The guard bowed, looking very, very humbled. "Yes, Avatar Kyoshi. It will be done."

"Good," she whispered quietly, as she closed the door.

It seemed to shut with a very loud 'snap'. Louder than usual. She gazed at the doorknob for a moment longer, then turned to face the room.

Kelikko was standing in the center, facing the floor. "I am sorry, Avatar," he said softly, stepping forward to kneel at her feet.

Kyoshi attempted to back away, protesting: "Kelikko, please don't—"

"It was an accident, Avatar, and I have tried to run from my responsibilities. I am sorry if I have disappointed you."

"Please, stand up—"

"I will go to my father now and apologize for hiding. I am not worthy of your generosity, Kyoshi." He looked up at her sadly, and she felt her heart wrench. "Thank you for hiding me from the guards, and defending me. I am indebted to you."

"It was simply a matter of telling them—"

She broke off as he took her hand, kissing her fingers. "I'll go now. I hope to see you on the ship to the Fire Nation in a week, Avatar Kyoshi. It will be an honor to have you sail with us."

He stood and walked to the door, turning away from her. "Kelikko," she begged, but he had already stepped into the hallway, closing the door with a loud 'snap' behind him.


	5. Fire: Chapter 1

**AN:: Poor Kyoshi. I feel so sorry for her. And I'm the one writing her story!**

**Just for your edification (and if any of you watch Psych, and know that line, I love you) she's going to learn the elements in order. Earth, Fire, Air, Water. Ba Sing Se, the Fire Temple, the Western Air Temple, and the North Pole. **

**I know the dragons are extinct by the time Aang walks on to the scene. But not so during this era. Remember that dragons weren't hunted until Sozin. And Sozin is Fire Lord during the time of Avatar Roku. And Roku is the Avatar after Kyoshi. Even in **_**that**_** time, it wasn't until after Roku's death that the dragons were hunted in great numbers. So it will still be around 200 years before dragon hunting is even considered. **

**Given that, I am making the assumption that dragons played a major part in learning firebending. (Watch "The Firebending Masters" if you haven't already. It's been shown in Canada, so it's on youtube. If they haven't pulled it off yet.) **

**And there's my explanation for the presence of dragons. I don't know if they'll be in this chapter, but they'll definitely be in the next one if not this one. **

**On the topic of dragons: has anybody heard of the purple dragon theory? That Zuko's going to get a purple dragon, because that's a combination of Roku's red and Sozin's blue (and he's a combination of bloodlines)?**

**Just wondering. General interest, you know. **

**And in case it's been forgotten: I don't do chapter-by-chapter disclaimers. The one at the very beginning counts. I've already gotten a message from someone scolding me for not putting a 'I don't own Avatar' on every chapter. **

**Maybe it's just me, but I get real sick of reading them. I thought I had mentioned that. **

**And plus, most of what I'm writing is completely mine. The only thing I don't own is the world and the concepts. Kelikko, Grandmother, the guards, the Earth King, the Chief (Kelikko's father) and all upcoming characters (there will be many) are all mine. Kyoshi is, of course, not mine; but I think I've sort of made her character mine. The only thing we ever found out about her from the show is that she wore makeup, used fans, and had big feet. That's all. The name of her town, her ugliness, the shade of her eyes, her history of being bullied, the death of her mother and disappearance of her father…**

**Ok. Stepping off my soapbox now. That person just made me kinda mad…**

**In short: there will be no disclaimer. It's already there. Chapter 1. I wrote it clear in black and white. It's legal. **

**That is the longest flippin' author's note I've ever written. Geez. **

"Are you ready, Kyoshi?"

"Just a minute, Taru," she called in response, placing the last of her belongings in her bag. A dress, a thick cloak for colder weather, a nightgown, sandals, slippers, a blouse…

"May I come in?"

She smiled. So impatient. "Yes, you may," she said, closing her suitcase and tossing it on the bed. Taru entered, and (not for the first time) Kyoshi was struck by how tall he was. His green eyes sparkled underneath his mess of brown hair, whether with tears or happiness, she couldn't tell. "Taru," she said affectionately, throwing her arms around his shoulders in a tight hug. "I'm going to miss you."

"And I'm going to miss you," he replied, sounding a little choked. She found it very funny that her tough-as-nails earthbending teacher was the crying sort. "You've been an excellent pupil, Kyoshi, and a wonderful friend."

"Best teacher I've ever had," she said happily, closing her eyes and squeezing him tighter.

He hiccupped.

She released him, holding him at arm's length. "I'll write to you when we get to the Fire Nation temple, I promise!"

"You'd better," he commanded, wiping his eyes. "I want to know how you're keeping up with your earthbending in the Fire Nation. And you'd better practice, too!"

"I will," she said, laughing. "You have my word."

"Good," he said abruptly, standing straight and picking up her bag. "Your boat awaits you. Those water tribe people are anxious to get going; something about the tides. I thought that Chief was going to bite my head off."

"I would have made him spit it back out, don't you worry," Kyoshi told him as she picked up her golden fans. She had found that they helped her immensely with earthbending; she hoped they would do the same for her when she learned to manipulate fire.

_"What are those fans for, anyway?"_

_"My grandmother gave them to me. They're a comfort."_

_"May I see them?"_

_"Sure. They're solid metal. I don't know if it's all gold…"_

_"Incredible. These must be for some purpose."_

_"You would know better than me, Taru."_

_"Do you want to try earthbending with them?"_

_"What?"_

The fans had helped her "channel her chi" as Taru had put it, giving her heightened accuracy and—sometimes—more force. He had also said that they would be useful in hand-to-hand combat, but since he was inexperienced in that realm of fighting, he had declined to teach her.

"Ancient women used to fight with fans, you know," he had told her that day. "They were considered the only weapons females were allowed to have. These look like they were made in the ancient design. Do you know how old they are?" She had told him no, only that they were at least two generations old. "Hm. It makes me wonder if these are artifacts. They've certainly held up well through the years, that's for certain!"

She turned to Taru now, fastening her fans into her belt. Her makeup covered her face now: white skin, with a vibrant red above her eyes and across her lips. Black paint made her eyebrows thin and arched. She wore the golden headband she had worn on her second day in the palace, and had cut her hair shorter—just above her shoulders—so that it was easier to handle. She wore a green and gold tunic, with brown leggings that reached just above her ankles. Sandals were strapped to her feet; the leather straps crisscrossed her calves all the way to her knees.

Taru stood with her bag in his hand, his other hand in his pocket. "You look lovely, Avatar Kyoshi," he said with a deep bow and a smile. Kyoshi smiled back, taking her bag from him. He opened his mouth to protest—

"Thank you, Master Taru," she said, holding up a finger. "But Avatar Kyoshi would like to carry her bags by herself. You are too kind."

He shook his head at her, still smiling, but fell in step behind her all the same as she walked out of her rooms, out of the palace, and across the city to the docks.

-x-x-

"Good morning, Avatar," the Chief said, bowing his head slightly when she approached. She bowed her head in response.

"Good morning…"

"Halkan. Chief Halkan. My crew and I will transport you anywhere you need to go." He was a tall man, with wrinkles that showed him to be middle-aged. He had a short brown goatee on his chin, and brown hair that flowed to his shoulders. His tunic was blue with a hood that lay against his back, unused. His eyes were also a nice shade of blue—a familiar shade of blue. They were sharp and piercing, and immediately fell on Taru behind her. "Is this man accompanying you?"

"No," said Taru, stepping forward. "I have just come to say goodbye."

"You could not have taken the Avatar's bags, as you 'came to say goodbye'?" Halkan asked, raising an eyebrow. Kyoshi opened her mouth furiously—

"I offered as a courtesy, but the Avatar is strong enough to carry her own belongings," Taru replied without missing a beat, his hands clasped behind his back. Halkan stared for a moment, then turned away.

"You may follow me when you're ready, Avatar Kyoshi," he called. "And I will take you to our boat."

Kyoshi felt as if Taru had just passed some sort of test. He breathed out in relief. The soft roar of the ocean was audible underneath the wood of the docks that they stood on. The air smelled salty, with a quiet hint of brine in the scent. Sea birds cried and called around them, as did merchants and sailors.

"We said our goodbyes in your chambers, Avatar Kyoshi," Taru said with a bow. "I simply wished to see that you departed safely."

"Stop talking like that," Kyoshi commanded, punching him lightly in the arm. "I'll be fine. And I'll write an essay to send to you, comparing the breathing techniques of firebenders and earthbenders."

"That won't be necessary," he said. And although his face was straight, his green eyes sparkled once more. "You'll just have to write a letter on the history of dragons and all previous Firelords in known memory."

She dropped her bags, giving him another hug. "I'll be sure to do that."

He chuckled. "And I want it within the week."

"It'll be done tomorrow."

They separated, and Kyoshi left to follow Halkan.

-x-x-

The ship was built in the traditional Water Tribe style, with embellishments and triangular-shaped sails. Several shields hung over the sides, and it floated steadily on the ebbing waves. Once they were out to sea, Kyoshi found it immensely comfortable to sail on. It rode through the whitecaps smoothly, and only barely rocked back and forth. She grew to love the fresh sea air, and the spray of salt water whenever the wind blew too hard.

But she didn't speak to Kelikko until three days after they had departed.

Night had fallen hours ago—most of the crew were asleep belowdecks. As they got closer to the Fire Nation, the air had grown warmer and warmer. She found her quarters stifling and hot; her sheets clung to her skin, her hair lay pasted to her cheeks and forehead. After a time, she tossed her sheets to the side and walked out on to the deck.

She didn't bother with makeup. In her mind, it didn't matter. It was night. No one would notice. And there were few people about. She went to the railing, leaning over the side and watching the waves ripple beneath her. Ah, the fresh air…it felt so good on her skin. The soft sea breeze caressed her even through her nightgown, brushing her hair back from her face.

She closed her eyes wearily, sighing.

"Couldn't sleep either, Avatar?"

Kyoshi spun suddenly at the sound of a voice. The blue of his eyes was the first thing she saw. They reflected the full moon, making them flash in the dark. "No, I couldn't," she said softly, humbled by his presence. She had felt guilty about the episode in her chambers at the palace. She felt as if she had lied to him, deceived him somehow.

Really, she had lied to him. She had told him her name was Layne. She had told him that her family was staying at the palace. And he hadn't spoken to her at all during the voyage. So why had he come now?

Kelikko walked to the railing, to lean on it beside her. "This air is too hot for me. I'm used to the ice and snow—but this…it just seems like nature is trying to suffocate me."

She watched him for a moment, as he stared out across the ocean. "I know what you mean," she said, turning to mirror his gaze. The water looked like a rippling black abyss, just waiting for her to fall in. It held her attention for several moments, in which the two stood in amiable silence.

"I'm sorry, you know," he said suddenly, looking down at his hands. "For not talking to you. I was embarrassed, I guess, that I had shown you such disrespect that day. And the incident with the fountain and the ice…" Kyoshi had been listening with growing horror, but before she could say a word, he had turned to her to catch her gaze. "I'm sorry, Avatar, I didn't know who you were! If I had, I swear I wouldn't have—"

"Don't apologize!" she exclaimed, in utter shock. "You didn't do anything wrong! Nothing at all! It was me, Kelikko, it really was! I should have told you who I was from the start. I'm sorry for lying to you, I truly am!" Now it was her turn to look at her hands, fiddling with her own fingers in humiliation. "I just thought…that if you didn't know I was the Avatar…you wouldn't treat me like—I mean, you wouldn't do all that…well, what I mean to say is that you would…you would…"

Argh! What was she trying to say? Where were the words she was looking for? Now she sounded like a blithering idiot in front of him. Her mind went into desperate overdrive, trying to find the elusive words—

"You would see me as a person," she whispered finally. "And not as an idol." Her emerald eyes looked even further down, to where the water met the keel of the boat. She would not, _could _not look at him. Not now.

And only silence met her words.

Utterly mortified, for reasons she couldn't comprehend, she murmured a quick 'I'm sorry', and turned to rush back to her cabin. But before she could, he had caught her arm gently.

She turned to look at him in surprise, to find him smiling at her. "If that was all you wanted," he said softly. "I would have talked to you sooner."

Kyoshi wanted to laugh in relief. Instead she matched his smile, moving closer so that his arm didn't have to remain outstretched. "I would have liked that," she said sincerely. "I've been rather lonely."

He let go of her arm, to hold his hand out in front of him. "Then," he said with a proud posture and expression, "I will be your friend, Avatar Kyoshi, and keep you company whenever you need it."

She clasped his forearm in a firm hold, as Taru had taught her. "To you, I am only Kyoshi. And I will also be _your_ friend."

Kelikko returned her strong grip, the grin on his face reaching from ear to ear. To her, it was rather endearing. It made his face light up like a child's, and his blue eyes all but glowed in the night. "I would very much like that, Kyoshi," he said happily.


	6. Fire: Chapter 2

"_I remember that night," he says, stroking her dark hair as she lay with her head on his chest. Somehow, he lured her to the bed, and she now lays sprawled across it. All thought of work is forgotten—her people seem so far away. Now, it's only him. "I kept thinking how different you looked without your makeup. Seemed like a miracle at the time."_

_Her eyes are closed as she relishes his touch. "That was the point," she murmurs back, her eyes still lidded and peaceful. "It meant that I could be a teenager and the Avatar. And it meant I wouldn't be remembered as 'Ugly Avatar Kyoshi'." He chuckles._

"_They wouldn't have remembered you as ugly anyway."_

"_Liar."_

_He chuckles again, and a smile begins to spread across her face. "All right. You weren't very pretty. But I didn't mind, really."_

"_You were only desperate for company."_

"_Yes, I was. I admit it freely; I felt sorry for you. You thought you had to hide behind all that face paint, in order to be accepted—I thought you could use a friend." His honesty on the subject is new, and it strikes at her heart. For some reason, she had always believed he loved her from the beginning…but perhaps that was too romantic a notion. _

_He notices the way her face falls softly. A small piece of him seems to fall with it. He gently strokes her cheek with his fingertips, and she leans into his touch. "Then I got to know you," he breathes, watching her. He wants nothing more than to watch her, hold her in his gaze forever. "And I think that's when I fell in love."_

"_You're so dramatic," she whispers as she relaxes, contented, into his caring embrace. Oh, how good it felt to be loved. Truly, honestly loved. Not loved by people in the street. Not loved by girls wishing to defend themselves. Not loved by young men looking to marry. Loved by someone who sincerely cared. _

_They had always cared about each other, really. Love wasn't that far of a leap. In fact, it seemed as if they had never leapt across the gap, between caring and love: it seemed as if they had simply crossed over, and left it far behind them without seeing it. _

-x-x-

"They seem like an arrogant people."

"Oh hush, Kelikko. You've been saying that for an hour."

The boy threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. "They build statues of themselves, and put them in the harbor for everyone to see!" he exclaimed, his face incredulous. "Did you see how tall they were? At _least_ 40 feet!"

"I thought they were pretty," Kyoshi responded dryly, looking at the coastline as it passed them with a blank expression. Truly, they hadn't been exceptional statues. But she knew it would annoy him—her smirk lay thinly veiled beneath that stoic expression. Already she could hear him stuttering and stammering in indignation beside her.

The Fire Nation had impressed her so far. They seemed to love dignified extravagance. Everything was embellished, everything was slimmed and graceful. She thought them to be a very exotic people; and all she had seen of them was their coasts. Temples often lined the beaches, lovingly decorated. Children waved to them from the dunes occasionally. And they would often pass small skiffs on their way into the harbor. The skiff's occupants would always give her an ecstatic 'hello' on their way by.

It was so different from her homeland.

A deep voice behind her spoke: "Avatar."

She turned to see Chief Halkan standing before her, hands clasped behind his back. During the two week long voyage, she had grown to understand this posture. It meant only one thing: 'I want to talk with someone. Everyone else leave. Now.'

And so Kelikko did, still muttering something unintelligible under his breath. Kyoshi thought she caught 'statues' and 'pompous' in there somewhere, but she couldn't be sure.

Halkan had ignored his son as he walked by, and his flinty gaze laid fixed on Kyoshi. (Although his eyes were the same color as Kelikko's, they seemed to have a sharper, harder touch to them. They were much more akin to ice.) "Avatar," he repeated. "We will be docking in the Fire Nation capitol in less than an hour. I would like to go over logistics with you." She gave him a small nod of approval, and he continued. "Your teacher waits for you in the city. It was implied in the letter he sent to the Earth King that he wishes to take you elsewhere in order to teach you. Because of this, we have decided we will stay in the capitol and await your return. It will be the easiest way for you to find us."

"But your people aren't accustomed to this climate," she protested, imagining Kelikko's response to this news. Her new friend had been complaining the entire voyage; it was the first thing he said to her each morning. _I feel like I'm in an oven._ "It'll become intolerable in time. I cannot allow it." The thought of all the Water Tribe men lingering in a stifling country for weeks on end was painful for her. She didn't want them to suffer so on her account. There was no need for it.

Halkan bowed respectfully, but behind his eyes burned the fire of dissent. It seemed he didn't like losing control. "We have been given a task, Avatar. And that is to transport you wherever you need to go, and to protect you."

"My teacher will give me transport to wherever he needs me to be," Kyoshi argued. "And I will protect myself."

Was that hurt, the expression that flashed across his face?

"Take your men and find cooler weather," she commanded, although she now found she could not look at him. Her voice didn't come out as forceful as she thought it would. What was wrong with her? Was it that emotion behind his eyes, the one she couldn't understand? "Come back in three weeks. If I am not finished by then, you may wait. If I am finished before three weeks, _I _will wait. But I will not have you suffering in this heat for my sake."

"It is not as dramatic a situation as you make it out to be, Avatar," Halkan said quietly, his voice full of quiet warning. Warning to leave the decisions to him. Attempting to command this man, taking on her new role of leadership as the Avatar, was more nerve-wracking than she had anticipated. It was hard to make the decisions. There was always that anxiety, that absolute fear of doing something wrong. But Kyoshi would not back down.

"I may be ugly, but I'm not weak!" she snapped. "I don't need your protection! I want to stand on my own! And I will not have you staying here in this heat for me, I've said it already. I'm a person, not a god. I don't need sacrifices. You don't need to get on your knees in front of me. I _just want to do what's right._" The words poured from her mouth without cease; poured from her heart without pause. She was now pacing in small circles without realizing it, her steps fast and furious. "I just want people to _accept_ me. They don't have to love me, they don't have to worship me! They don't have to protect me! If I'm the Avatar, I have to learn to do it myself. _I _have to be the protector. I have to protect them. All of them." She turned abruptly to Halkan, whose glare had softened slightly. "And I can't learn to do that if I'm being protected," she said in a quiet voice, now incredibly humbled by her outburst. She hadn't meant to say so much! And to the man to whom she owed so much! She bit her lip, looking down at her feet for a moment. "Take your men and go to cooler places," she continued at last. "I will wait for you. You've done more than enough for me."

There was a long, tense silence between them. Halkan's face was blank, his eyes held nothing discernable behind them. Kyoshi simply stared at the deck, her hand holding one arm behind her back, waiting for him to speak.

"We don't believe you to be weak," he said finally. His voice was still quiet, but there was no longer any warning in it. "And we do not protect you because we think you are. We protect you because you are the Avatar, and you are our protector. Should we not give you something in return?"

She shook her head slowly, closing her eyes. "You shouldn't. It's my duty. My responsibility."

"It is. But that doesn't mean we can't express our thanks for it. Our protecting you is our way of saying thank you."

Her eyes squeezed tighter. "I haven't done anything," she whispered. "Anything at all. I've done nothing." As the words escaped her lips, their truth hit her painfully. She was a useless Avatar thus far, wasn't she? She hadn't done a thing. She had just wasted the Earth King's treasury on frivolous things like headbands.

Kyoshi heard and felt the Chief's footsteps, coming closer to her. She felt his fingers on her chin, lifting her gaze upwards to meet his. She had expected it to be soft, like his voice. But his gaze remained as sharp and critical as ever. Even when his voice was at its gentlest, he was still speaking of business and practicality. "It is your promise that we give thanks for," he whispered. "You will be a great Avatar. We can all see it. You need our help now; thus, we give it to you now, without waiting for an invitation, without waiting for a favor to return, without desiring you in our debt. We will be in _yours_, Avatar, now and for eternity, for all that you have done: but most of all, for what you can—and will—do."

With that, he released her chin. Kyoshi stared after him in astonishment as he walked away, struck speechless. She had never imagined…

He half-turned on his way to the cabin, speaking to her over his shoulder: "I will take my men to a port in the southern Earth Kingdom. We will be near. Send a hawk if you need us. But first, my son and I will escort you to the palace to ensure your safe passage through the capitol."

"Thank you," Kyoshi said. And although she tried to make her voice carry, she was so choked by emotion, it came out as more of a squeak.

"No, thank you."

And he was gone, just like that. In that instant, a crewman shouted: "Landed! Lower the gangplank!"

Kyoshi took a moment to gather herself, fix her hair self-consciously, and nervously straighten her green tunic. Then she walked forward, following Halkan, towards the gangplank at the bow of the ship.

He and Kelikko were already standing there, on either side, silent sentries. Halkan was stoic; Kelikko gave her a tiny wink as she walked by. She winked back, then turned to face the crowd.

It was a relatively large mass of people. Most of them were nobles, dressed in red and gold finery. Children ran through a forest of legs and waists, holding banners and kites over their heads. Their laughter added a happy harmony to the nobles' joyous applause, and comforted her more than she had thought possible.

She let the soft roar of the applause fill her from top to bottom—she straightened, stood tall, and held her head high. Then with measured, graceful steps, she made her way down the plank.

As she walked, she imagined the scene in her mind: her, the Avatar, clad in a flowing green dress, face painted, hair falling neatly about her shoulders, held in place by a simple golden headband; Kelikko, the young Water Tribe warrior, struggling to keep the wide grin from spreading across his face; Halkan, the proud Chief, keeping a perfectly blank and polite expression while his hand lingered over the knife at the back of his belt as he prepared to protect his charge.

The crowd parted smoothly before them as if it had been rehearsed. Kyoshi smiled at as many people as she could, waving at the few who waved to her. She tried her utmost to emulate the nobles of the Earth Kingdom, but she soon noticed that there was a distinct difference between the two ethnicities. The Earth Kingdom nobles had smiled at her, albeit politely. Some had even been friendly. The Fire Nation nobles…they just looked on. Their expressions were blank as they applauded, but as Kyoshi got closer, she noticed a burning pride behind their gazes, hidden beneath their 'masks'. It was there. She just had to look closer.

It was then that she was struck by how foreign it all was.

The crowd stopped clapping at last, and split down the middle to reveal five people standing side-by-side. There was a tall man with black hair, and a fiery ornament in his topknot; beside him stood a woman who looked fiercely beautiful; a younger woman stood behind her, hands clasped behind her back; a small girl with bright golden eyes clutched the skirt of the older woman; and slightly behind them all was a shorter, older man, with gray hair and a short gray beard.

Kyoshi placed her fist beneath her vertical palm, and held it out to the tall man as she bowed deeply. "Fire Lord Akozu, it is an honor to meet you," she said as the crowd silenced itself behind her. Her hair fell over her face as she looked downward, and she was grateful for the temporary curtain. As she waited for his approval to rise, she used the shield of her dark hair to take a deep breath, and clear her expression. From what she had observed, the Fire Nation was all about dignity. She would show them what she could do.

"The honor is ours, Avatar Kyoshi," he said, his voice low and smooth. She straightened, looking him in the eye. She saw in his gaze the same thing she had seen in Halkan's—a sharp, yet caring demeanor, with solid beliefs and fierce loyalty. She had heard that he was a forgiving man, but he ruled his lands with a firm hand. She liked him immediately. "Allow me to introduce my wife, Fire Lady Kezla—" He laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, and the older woman bowed. Kyoshi returned the gesture. "—my daughter, Pai—" The young girl hid behind her mother's skirts, and the corners of Kyoshi's lips tugged upwards. "—Lady Shezlu, and Lord Itzo." The younger woman and older man each bowed in turn. Kyoshi did the same for both of them, taking note of their appearances. The man dressed simply, much unlike a noble. He simply wore a small hourglass on a chain around his neck. Shezlu was also dressed simply, and was the only woman present who wore a crimson tunic and leggings. A black stone choker lay about her neck, resting on her collarbone, contrasting with her unusually pale skin.

As she straightened, she caught Shezlu's eye. The young woman threw her a hidden smile, and a small wink.

As she had been doing since she had arrived, Kyoshi yet again returned the gesture given to her.

"And now let us go," Akozu said cheerfully, gesturing to a large carriage beside them. "The palace awaits us."

-x-x-

The carriage was completely full with eight people in it, but it had been built for a crowd. Kyoshi sat comfortably between Kelikko and Halkan, looking across the carriage at Akozu, his wife and daughter, and Lord Itzo. Lady Shezlu sat beside Chief Halkan, perfectly content, looking out the window with vague interest.

"I heard the royal palace was recently redecorated," Halkan said politely. Akozu's expression brightened.

"Yes, we've been collecting artifacts from the entire nation. We now have a lovely assortment of antiquities from various stages in our past, and we've redone several of our more…outmoded rooms." He gave Kyoshi a little, hidden smile. "You, Avatar, will be staying in our Nature wing with some of our other more notable guests. I believe you have the fireflower room, if I'm not mistaken."

"One of my personal favorites," Fire Lady Kezla said with a nod. Kyoshi smiled, touched by the gesture.

"I was under the impression she would be taken elsewhere to train," said Halkan, a slight confusion entering his voice.

"Yes, that will be the decision of her firebending master," Akozu replied simply.

The Chief turned to Itzo, politely bowing his head. "Where do you think you will be taking the Avatar, Master Itzo?"

Soft chuckles filled the carriage—Akozu, Kezla, Itzo and Shezlu seemed to find his question amusing. Even little Pai smiled, looking down at her dangling feet. Halkan raised an eyebrow; Kyoshi looked at Kelikko, who looked amused and perplexed at the same time.

"I'm afraid I am not a firebender, Chief Halkan," Lord Itzo said with a wry smile. "I am simply an advisor to the Fire Lord. Lady Shezlu here will be instructing Avatar Kyoshi."


	7. Fire: Chapter 3

AN: Hm

AN: Hm. These chapters seem to be very far apart, don't they? I do apologize, I do. But I just don't have the time.

Don't worry, I won't just cut this off. I'll see it through to the end. But be prepared for large breaks in the action: I don't really want to go through her entire journey, as it will take her quite a while to learn all four elements.

**When is Avatar going to start again? I mean, seriously. I want to see the Boiling Rock. Right now. **

**And I'll try to make the dialogue better. I realize it's kinda lame…It's not really my forte, to be honest. But I'm sure you've all noticed that.**

A knock sounded at her door. Kyoshi, who had been lying back in a pile of soft pillows on a wonderfully comfortable bed, shot upright. "Come in!" she called, attempting to work herself free of pillows and squishy mattresses.

But when Lady Shezlu entered her bedchamber, Kyoshi was still buried beneath several large, crimson pillows.

The woman chuckled, knocking several of them away and offering Kyoshi a hand. "Irritating little things, aren't they?" she said, her eyes twinkling. Kyoshi took her offered hand, smiling. "They're like pests; you think you've gotten rid of them all, and at about 2 am you find the one that you happened to miss is the one with all the scratchy beads on it."

Kyoshi laughed as Shezlu pulled her up and off of the bed. "Thank you," she said, straightening her red blouse. As soon as she had been shown to her rooms, she had quickly changed into Fire Nation clothing. She thought it would be a show of goodwill, to immediately attempt to blend in with the foreign culture. Shezlu appeared to appreciate it.

"It was considerate of you to change into our dress," she commented, bowing with her fist placed below the heel of her hand. "Apparently the rumors of your polite mannerisms were true."

Kyoshi blushed beneath her makeup, one hand instinctively reaching for a fan. "Well, I—"

"You'll have to forget about all that politeness."

She looked up in surprise. "What?"

Shezlu's eyes had sharpened somewhat, and she clasped her hands behind her back in a military posture as she continued: "Firebending has neither the time nor the patience for kindness, generosity, apologies, or 'please and thank you'. You will leave all that behind. Once we walk out that door, you are a firebender. Act like one."

The girl was speechless for a moment, but she quickly shook herself out of it. _It doesn't sound too hard,_ she thought to herself. _You can do this. _"Then I shall, Master Shezlu," she said, bowing with the correct hand gesture. Shezlu smiled, and although her eyes remained sharp and hard, her smile was sincere.

"Good. We begin right now."

-x-x-

The courtyard was completely devoid of any people, which Kyoshi found extremely odd for a palace. Certainly there'd be servants roaming the open-walled hallways surrounding them? Surely there'd be someone—at least someone—who needed to go from one wing to the other?

But no one ever passed.

Shezlu turned on her heel to face Kyoshi. "This will be a test. Most of my students pass it. If you don't, if you should fail—" She paused for dramatic effect, then: "—then you are beyond my help."

Kyoshi felt her heart drop straight through her stomach.

"This may sound silly, but just to be sure: try to make a flame appear in your palm."

The girl obediently complied, raising a hand to eye level. Squinting slightly, she focused…harder…and harder…All her energy was directed at her hand, all of her thoughts were focused on a single objective, her mind's eye was already seeing a spark alighting somewhere between her two fingers—

But after a minute or two, she finally dropped her hand to her side again, her throat closing and her eyes burning. Shezlu made a 'tsk'ing sound, and walked forward. "Well, that didn't do much, did it? Let's try something else." She held up a single leaf, and burned the center with her fingertip. The edges of the burnt hole glowed, and began to eat away at the leaf from the inside. She handed it to Kyoshi, who took it gingerly. "Now, focus. See how long you can keep the embers from reaching the edges of the leaf.

Again, Kyoshi focused all her thoughts, all her energy, all her _being_ on this tiny leaf.

After exactly 7 seconds, the embers reached her fingers, and she dropped the charred remains with a yelp.

"I'm sorry," she said pleadingly, rubbing her singed fingers. "I'm sorry, it's just—it's just not coming, I—"

Shezlu tilted her face towards her, staring into her eyes intently, as if searching for something. Kyoshi waited quietly.

"Yes…I don't think I can help you any further."

-x-x-

"Where are we going?" Kyoshi shouted to Shezlu over the roar of the boat's engines.

"You'll see," Shezlu cried back, her hair a ragged mess from the wind as she shoveled coal into the boiler. "Just keep an open mind."

The small boat roared across the water with incredible speed, heading straight for an island in a large bay. A tall volcano towered above the rest of the island, perfectly conical in its shape. It seemed almost unreal, how smooth and perfect and symmetrical it was. As they approached, Kyoshi found she couldn't take her eyes off of it.

Once on land, Shezlu wasted no time. She shoved a bowl of gold and jewels into Kyoshi's arms, making her gape. "What's all this?" she demanded, but her master was already fetching another bowl of treasures.

"An offering," was her simple response.

They climbed from the beach into the forest, where the sky was hidden from them by thick foliage. Shezlu held a fire in her hand to light the way, but other than that flickering light, it was completely dark.

"Don't worry, we'll be out of these woods soon," Shezlu said in reassurance. And indeed, before she had even finished her sentence, the woods opened before them, and Kyoshi saw the most incredible sight she had ever seen.

They were at the foot of the volcano, where the trees ended several hundred yards from the mountain itself. After the trees ended, it was just dry, cracked earth leading up the height of the volcano, with sparse grasses growing between the cracks.

But what was really incredible was the—

"Dragons!" Kyoshi breathed, nearly dropping the bowl in her arms.

There were at least 5 dragons in their sight alone, but there must have been more around the circumference of the mountain. They were huge creatures, long and lithe. Their scales glittered in the sunlight, in all multitudes of colors. There were blue ones, red ones, purple ones, golden ones…

A silver one approached them, white whiskers trailing from his massive square jaw. Kyoshi shied away from him instinctively, but there was something in his blue eyes…something intelligent. Something human.

Something that told her this creature knew far more than she would ever know.

"Lezalus," Shezlu said respectfully, bowing deeply. The bowl lay in her outstretched hands, offered to the dragon. The great creature snorted, smoke trailing from his nostrils as he bent his head low over the treasures. They seemed to satisfy him, for he made happy, contented noises somewhere in his throat not unlike a cat. Shezlu smiled, laying the bowl on the ground by his feet. Although Kyoshi thought her imagination must have been playing tricks on her, she could have sworn the great silver dragon was purring.

Then he turned to look at her, and she dropped her gaze immediately.

_Oh gods…a dragon…a dragon, right in front of me!_ she thought, panicking. _I thought they were unreal, fictional, pieces of stories that would never be true—_

She looked up cautiously after several moments of silence, only to find the dragon's face inches from her own. With a gasp, she bowed her head again and offered him the bowl of gold and jewels. "H-here," she squeaked, laying the bowl carefully on the ground. "F-f-for you."

The dragon—Lezalus—took no notice of the bowl, but rather stared at her intently, as if sizing her up. She quivered and waited, her only thoughts on how big his teeth must have been, and how quickly he could probably swallow her whole.

She nearly screamed when in a quick, violent movement, his body slithered between her and the woods—and Shezlu.

"Shezlu?" she called, uncertain.

"He wants you to go with him!" she heard her call back from behind the great dragon. "Go forward!"

Kyoshi obeyed willingly, slowly walking forward towards the volcano. She felt Lezalus' footsteps behind her, and his breath echoing in his lungs. She took deep, deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. This dragon wouldn't hurt her, right? He hadn't done so thus far.

Still, all the dragons around the volcano, just moving around…occasionally one of them would roar. It was a strangely musical sound, that roar. Each one had a different tone, a different pitch.

She wondered if every one of them had the same vibrant blue eyes as Lezalus.

The volcano now launched up from the ground in front of her, blocking her way. She stopped automatically, without daring to turn around and face the dragon. She felt him move behind her, maneuvering so that he stood to one side. There was a flat black stone in the soil in front of her. Lezalus gently lifted it with a claw, and moved it to one side.

The extreme heat emanating from the resulting hole was almost overpowering. Kyoshi winced, turning her face away, but she felt a scaled paw catching her face gently, and turning it back towards the hole. She could see lava, glowing red-hot, far in the distance below her. Her vision wavered as she faced the hole again. Such heat! Such power! Ironically, it chilled her to the bone.

Lezalus growled, pushing her towards it slightly with his nose. She attempted to protest—with something that came out as only a squeak—but the dragon was too strong.

It hurt—gods above, it hurt. She placed her hands on either side of the hole, bowing her head and trying to breathe deeply. It was just too much power for her; she was so far away, and it was still so hot! It still burned so much! She wanted nothing more than to turn her face away, run towards the bay to immerse herself in cooling water.

For some reason, this made her think of Kelikko. Kelikko, and Halkan. _It is your promise that we give thanks for. You will be a great Avatar. We can all see it._

Taking deeper breaths, she opened her eyes, and faced the lava directly.

The pain was intense. It felt as if her face were being burned off, crinkling at the edges like a piece of paper thrown into the flame. But she stayed with it. She didn't waver. She couldn't.

And in that moment, the pain stopped.

She gasped involuntarily, feeling the air return to her lungs again. The hole was still open. The heat was still flowing. But it was a friend now; it was no less intense, she could just manage it. Much like one gets used to a hot bath, after resting in it for several minutes. At the same temperature, water that had once burned now felt good.

And it felt so good.

Laughing to herself quietly, she spread her arms wide and let the heat lift her. It was so wonderful. _So wonderful._ It felt like an old friend, caressing her skin, letting her know that it was all right.

Kyoshi heard Lezalus purring behind her.

-x-x-

"Fire is not a friend," Shezlu said sternly. They were back in the courtyard, and once again—not a single servant passed by. They were completely alone. "Think of fire as a lion at a circus. You are the lion tamer. You have your whip, and the lion should obey." She leaned forward slightly. "But if you don't use the whip right, the lion _will_ do whatever he pleases. And usually that involves hurting you."

Kyoshi nodded, her hands clasped behind her back in a posture that mirrored Shezlu's own.

"Creating a flame is like freeing that lion from its cage. Its cage is the air—heat is all around, but it cannot burst into flame when the wind simply carries it. You pluck it out of the air, you gather it in a place in your chest, and—" A small fire appeared at the tip of her pointer finger, and she smiled slightly. "—you once more have a lion. Now I want you to try."

Kyoshi hesitated, lifting a hand to eye level like she had before. "I gather it…in my chest?"

Shezlu shook her head, her hands held up in defense. "I know it sounds strange, but that's where you make heat into flame. That's where everything starts. Do you remember the volcano?" Kyoshi nodded nervously. "That's where you first came to understand heat. That's where the dragons started their understanding of fire too. They were the first firebenders—they taught us everything. That heat of the volcano that Lezalus made you withstand; that was the heat of creation. That is fire itself." She clenched a hand in midair as if plucking something. "It's all around you. You just need to see it, _feel _it."

Kyoshi concentrated for a moment, remembering the heat of the volcano. How she had felt it on her skin as strands of air, rushing past her. How they had all gently touched her as if saying hello and goodbye in one gesture…She closed her eyes, trying to feel them now.

There. A faint one, trailing off of Shezlu. Her body heat. It touched her wrist gently, brushing by on the breeze that was carrying it. But Kyoshi had suddenly understood—and she grabbed the strand of heat. Not with her hands, that would have been foolish. She just…called to it. It leapt to her chest, a place right above her heart, beneath her collarbone. She gasped at the sensation, suddenly feeling the impossible, powerful, awful desire—no, _need_—to turn it into fire.

With another gasp to fill her depleted lungs with air once more, she lifted a hand and sent the heat there.

In a moment, she had a flame flickering in her palm.

Shezlu applauded happily, laughing like a child. "You did that all on your own!" she exclaimed joyfully. "Wonderful, Kyoshi, wonderful!"

Kyoshi just stared in wonder at the flame in her hand, wavering and rippling like a living creature. She had done it. She had created it.

It was hers.


	8. Air: Chapter 1

A letter from Kelikko of the Southern Water Tribes to Sannan of the Southern Water Tribes:

A letter from Kelikko of the Southern Water Tribes to Sannan of the Southern Water Tribes:

Sannan, do you remember when I first left? When I told you I didn't want to be transporting the Avatar on my _first_ voyage, the voyage that's supposed to be so special?

Well, I've changed my mind.

I suppose I imagined the Avatar to be some tall, muscular earthbender, you know? How we always imagined those people from the Earth Kingdom: tan, strong, barefoot and dirty…with way too much skin exposed, of course. Not only were we wrong about the citizens, but I was wrong about the Avatar, too. She's nothing like I imagined her.

First, she's a girl. Second, she's not very pretty. And third, she's very nice.

The second one may be sort of…opinion. She wears this facial makeup that hides her face, and it actually makes her look almost beautiful. But I've seen her without it (Stop those dirty thoughts, San! I know you!) and I think she looks infinitely better with the makeup on. I mean, her eyes are a little too far apart, her nose is too small…It's hard to describe. And she isn't skinny, not like your girlfriend. (How is Hanni, by the way? You two still getting along? How many times has that girl kicked your butt since I've been away?) But she's incredibly strong. And I don't mean that just physically. She's shy, but once you talk to her for a little bit, you can tell that she's really tough. When she needs to be.

Anyway, we left her in the Fire Nation while we went to some cooler weather, and she learned firebending for four weeks—and from a female firebending master, no less! I mean, this master is teaching her how to _fight_. Apparently the Fire Nation doesn't restrict their female benders like we do.

We just picked her up yesterday, and we're heading for the Western Air Temple now. She's almost completely changed. When we arrived, I almost didn't recognize her. She was wearing a bright red and orange dress, waiting for us at the docks, but she was…Tui and La, Sannan, I don't know. She was prettier than I'd ever seen her. She was standing tall, confident, waiting for us with the same look on her face as the rest of the Fire Nation nobles. (They have this weird, calm expression that looks proud and arrogant all at the same time. She nailed it perfectly.) At first I was worried she'd become like them—the nobles, I mean. Then she saw me, smiled just a little bit, and I knew she hadn't.

What a relief.

Still, I've just been around her for only a day, and she's so different. She's more passionate, I guess. Confident. Opinionated. It seems like she's been keeping all these opinions inside, and now she finally has the courage to let them out. I think all that firebending went to her head. She's been talking with my father and the other sailors, discussing the route and what we'll do once we arrive at the Temple. Then, once she learns airbending, we'll be going to the Northern Water Tribe.

I'll let you know how their girls compare to ours, all right San? Like I promised!

I'll be back by the end of winter, with luck.

-Kelikko

-x-x-

"Hey!"

Kelikko started at her entrance, in the middle of folding a piece of paper. He turned, spotted her, and grinned. "Hey," he said, placing the paper down and standing.

Kyoshi stood in his doorway, leaning against the frame. She had worn one of the many Fire Nation dresses that Shezlu had given her, short enough for her to wear loose brown slacks beneath it. She had also found another golden headband to replace her old one; this one was plain, while the other one had had engraved designs. But the metal shimmered an orange color in certain light, which more than made up for its bare surface. Her hair had grown longer, but she had swept it up in a topknot in the Fire Nation style.

"You look…red."

She made a face at him. "Yes, red. It's a color. A nice color."

"Looks nice on you."

"Thanks," she said with a sincere smile and a tilt of her head. He smiled in return.

"Welcome."

"What are you writing?"

"A letter," he replied vaguely, setting it aside, "to a friend back home."

"Telling him all about your exciting adventures?"

At first, he thought she was serious. Then he looked up, spotted her smirk, and laughed. "Oh yes," he said. "He's going to be incredibly jealous when he hears all that _I've_ done."

She laughed too, moving over to sit on his bed. He took up his hunting knife and his whetting stone, and leaned against the wall. "So," she began as he started to sharpen the blade, "you haven't asked me how the Fire Nation was."

He glanced up, but his hands did not stop moving. "I was waiting for a good chance. You seemed pretty busy with my father."

"Yes, I was trying to find out more about the temple."

"What did they tell you?"

"Apparently, they don't know anything about it. The Air Nomads have remained very secretive about their culture and tradition. The only ones who really know them are the previous Avatars."

"Weird," Kelikko said with a frown.

Kyoshi leaned back on her hands. "Yeah, I'm a little concerned," she confessed. "I don't like walking into their home without knowing at least something about them."

"They'll understand," he said, whisking the stone over the metal as he spoke. "I mean, you're the Avatar."

She lay back, staring at the ceiling with her eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Sometimes I get sick of using that as an excuse," she said softly. Kelikko's movements stopped, and he glanced up at her. Was that anger he heard in her voice?

"Something wrong, Kyoshi?" he asked, pushing off the wall and walking towards her.

"That's what they told me, too," she said without looking at him. "They told me it wouldn't matter that I didn't know anything about them, or who they are. I'm the Avatar." When he had plopped down on the floor beside the bed, she turned to him and rested her chin on her elbow. "I don't like that."

"Don't like what?" he asked, confused. "You don't like being the Avatar?"

"I don't like how people treat me different because of it," she said angrily. "They tell me I can do whatever I want, _have_ whatever I want…"

"Eat whatever you want," Kelikko said with a grin. The beginnings of a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth and she shoved him gently. Then the smile faded, and the faint anger returned to her voice.

"I mean it, Kelikko," she said. "They make me feel…like I'm above them. Like I'm completely deserving of whatever I desire."

"Aren't you?"

She turned to stare at him, obviously surprised. Kelikko was surprised too—he hadn't meant to say that out loud. "Do you really think that?" she asked, and he heard a little note of insecurity in her tone. He blinked, trying to think quickly.

"Well…yes," he said in a small voice. "Kyoshi, as much as you don't like being honored and treated like royalty, it's really what you are. You're the world's only living connection to the Spirit World, you—"

"That doesn't mean I'm any better than them," she interrupted. "I like respect, I do _not _like being revered. Makes me feel like some sort of _god_." And with that, she threw herself back on to the bed. Kelikko watched her for a moment, then said:

"Okay. Fine. You're right." She raised her head from the pillow to blink at him.

"You changed your mind quickly," she said with a raised eyebrow. He grinned sheepishly.

"Well, I didn't really mean all that stuff. I was just trying to cheer you up. You looked like you needed it."

Kyoshi stared, then began to laugh. To Kelikko's great shock and surprise, she leapt to the floor, lifted him to his feet, and threw her arms around him in a hug. He returned it hesitantly, resting his chin on her shoulder. "What's this for?" he asked, barely able to hide a smile.

"For cheering me up!" she exclaimed, hugging him tighter. Kelikko gave up—at this point, he wasn't sure why he was even trying to hide his smile in the first place.

-x-x-

Kyoshi spent the rest of her day with Kelikko. She felt like she had to make up for all the time they had spent apart—and she had truly missed him. Although Shezlu had been like an older sister to her, and the royal family had treated her as they would one of their own—little Pai had grown quite attached to her—she still had no peers to talk to. And she had longed for Kelikko's silly sense of humor and fun.

"How was learning firebending, by the way?" Kelikko asked as they walked along the deck. The sky was overcast, but lightly so—and the breeze was cool.

"It was different," Kyoshi admitted freely. "It required a lot of control. We meditated every morning at sunrise."

"Was she tough on you?"

"Unbelievably tough. I'm still sore from when she was trying to teach me to use my fans."

Kelikko glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "I haven't seen you use your fans to bend," he said. "Do they make it easier?"

She shrugged. "A little. They make it easier to control, since you're bending _through_ them. All the power is focused, so that also makes attacks stronger."

"Can I see them?" he asked with an eager grin. She laughed, but handed them over reluctantly. There was a nervous pit in her stomach every second Kelikko turned them over and over in his hands. For some reason, she felt naked and exposed without them at her belt, and she was anxious about Kelikko holding them—as much as she liked him, trusting him with her fans was a different matter entirely. "They're heavy," he remarked, sliding a finger along the folds. "Entirely metal?"

"Yes," she said. "But only gold-plated."

He nodded. "Gold's too soft. This must be iron, or perhaps a metal mixture. I've heard of all kinds of magical metals from the southeastern coasts of the Earth Kingdom, but I've never seen them before."

"Don't tell me you believe in magic," Kyoshi said with a soft laugh. He chuckled too, returning one of her fans.

"Bending seems a lot like magic to me," he replied good-humoredly. "As much as it affects our lives, I still can't believe how incredible it is." Kyoshi watched him as he opened the fan, and gently ran his finger along the outer edge of it.

"But you're a waterbender, aren't you?" she asked without taking her eyes off of the movements of his hand. He nodded, also not looking away.

"But I'm going to be a sailor," he said simply, "not a fighter. At the most, I'll have to shift some ocean currents to make my boat move faster, or turn away from an ice floe. I don't need to do anything more, and I don't really want to." He shut the fan sharply, grinning at the 'snap' it made. Then he handed it back, looking up at her. "Too much 'magic' for me," he said with a smile. Kyoshi plucked the fan from his fingers, smiling back.

But the smile wasn't truly sincere—not really. She couldn't understand why he wouldn't want to learn more waterbending, why he wouldn't want to get better at it. He was obviously inexperienced, judging by the incident in the Earth Kingdom palace. Wouldn't that make him want to get better, so that sort of thing wouldn't happen again?

Kelikko suddenly took her by the hand, running towards the bow. "Look! Land!"

-x-x-

That was all it was. Land. Grass and dirt for as far as the eye could see.

"This is where the Air Temple is supposed to be?" Kyoshi asked Halkan, hands on her hips. Her dress fluttered in the strong wind much like the map in the Chief's hands, and the rest of the crew were fanned out on the dunes, looking for any sign of the temple. He frowned, looking down at the map.

"Yes," he replied. "It's supposed to be right over there, on the horizon." He pointed straight ahead—but Kyoshi saw nothing more than rippling waves of grass.

"How recent is your map?" she demanded. Halkan threw his hands up in the air.

"It's supposed to be the best!" he exclaimed. "We got it from a mapmaker in a port on the southern coast, his most updated version! He told us he had just traveled to all the Air Temples himself!"

Kyoshi brushed away some hair that had escaped her topknot, sighing. "Are you sure we're on the right island?" she asked.

Halkan glared. "Yes, I'm positive. It's the biggest one of the lot. But I didn't see the temple on any of the other islands, either as we sailed by."

"Aren't there supposed to be smaller dwellings on those other islands?"

"Yes."

"But we didn't see any."

"Correct."

Kyoshi massaged her temples—they had begun to ache. "This is ridiculous. They _have_ to be here."

"No. We _choose_ to be here."

Halkan, who had been looking down at the map, and Kyoshi, who had been closing her eyes, whirled. There stood a nun, hands hidden in her sleeves, regarding them calmly with a hint of a smile on her pale face. She wore the typical garb of an airbender—orange and yellow and beige, with different folds and cuts. There was a bright blue arrow on her forehead, pointing directly between her wrinkled gray eyes. She was obviously aged, but she moved with a grace that defied her years. She bowed deeply at the waist.

"Avatar Kyoshi. We are glad that you have come."

Kyoshi stared for a moment, then recovered herself and hastily made a bow of her own. "It is an honor to be here," she replied respectfully. "I know visiting the Air Temples is a privilege not many people get, and I am thankful for the opportunity."

"The honor is ours," the nun said with a quiet smile as she straightened. "I am Shi Fu. I will be your airbending teacher."

"It is a pleasure to meet you at last, Master Shi Fu," she said, returning the smile. "This is Chief Halkan, my guide and friend." Halkan looked pleased.

"It truly is an honor, Master Shi Fu," he said, pounding his chest with a fist and bowing his head in the typical Southern Water Tribe gesture. Shi Fu bowed her head as well, although she abstained from pounding her own chest.

"You and your men will be welcome at the temple," she told the Chief. "We will accommodate you for as long as we are accommodating the Avatar. We have beds and chambers for you all."

"You are very generous," Halkan said politely. "Your hospitality is greatly appreciated."

"I suppose it would be appreciated more if you knew where the temple was, hm?" Shi Fu asked with a playful wink. Kyoshi smothered a giggle. Halkan looked a little red. "Come with me, dear friends, and I will guide you. I think you will find its location a little inconvenient for non-benders, but we will aid you. I'm sure you will grow familiar with the place before long. Tell me, Chief Halkan, are any of your men afraid of heights?"

**AN: When Kelikko mentions the restrictions on female benders in his letter to Sannan, here's what I imagined (and keep in mind, I am completely making this up):**

**Both the Southern and Northern Water Tribes restricted the bending of their women to healing in the ancient days. But as time went by and the Northern Water Tribe prospered while the Southern Tribes struggled, the women in the south found that their skills as benders were more useful for purposes other than healing. **

**Therefore, because of necessity, the women benders of the Southern Water Tribes obtained freedom _before_ their sisters in the north. Specifically, sometime during or after Kyoshi's time, and before the war.**

**Shi Fu means 'real/honest lotus'—when translated vaguely and inaccurately. It's the only name in this story that actually has any meaning.**

**And I have to thank Wishing Only Wounds the Heart for informing me that there were only female airbenders at the Western Air Temple. Darling, you've saved my life. :) Thank you much. **


End file.
